 Wallets associated with Alameda Research have swapped Bitcoin and Ethereum over a 24-hour period. Since the exchange filed for bankruptcy in November, there's been more mysterious movements of FTX-linked crypto funds. More: - James Bromley, FTX's attorney, also affirmed that a "substantial amount" of assets on the exchange are missing or stolen.
- Arkham Intelligence data shows that at least $1.7M worth of crypto was traded in the open market over a span of several hours.
- The value of the transactions ranged from a fraction of ether to over 15 ETH and then converted into BTC using swapping services like FixedFloat and change now.
- Pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT said that the Bitcoin was put into Wasabi using coin mixers.
- Coin mixers are often used to hide the origin and destination of the transaction.
- Due to the anonymity of transactions on coin mixers, The U.S. Treasury Department banned the Ethereum coin mixer Tornado Cash in August.
- Alameda still holds over $112M worth of crypto, down from $140M in November.
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 Sam Bankman-Fried confirmed that the Bahamian Securities Commission seized $3.5B worth of digital assets belonging to FTX Digital Markets on Nov. 12. The securities regulator says the assets are stored for "safe keeping" due to concerns of a cyber attack. More: - Shortly after FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Bahamian authorities took control of digital assets citing the risk of "imminent dissipation."
- The commission will temporarily store the digital assets in their own wallets until the Bahamas Supreme Court directs them to distribute them to the exchange's customers and creditors.
- U.S. lawyers for FTX refused to allow Bahamanian authorities to gain access to FTX's data saying, "We do not trust the Bahamian government."
- The regulator explained that it took the funds after receiving information concerning cyberattacks on the exchange.
- Once FTX filed for bankruptcy, a suspected hack on the exchange drained over $477M from the firm's crypto wallets.
- SBF will enter a plea deal in federal Manhattan court and face U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Jan. 3.
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FTX Japan will exit the market and return assets to customers in early 2023. The company will resume withdrawals through Liquid Japan and will offer details in a report next month. More: - FTX Japan launched in June this year after acquiring Liquid, a Japanese-based crypto exchange, on Feb. 2, but due to the bankruptcy proceedings of its parent company, customer withdrawals were halted.
- The Financial Services Agency of Japan announced it took administrative action against FTX Japan and ordered it to suspend business operations.
- The exchange apologized to customers by saying, "We deeply apologize for the big trouble caused by the prolonged suspension of services for the withdrawal of legal currency and crypto assets."
- The Japanese subsidiary confirmed that customers' assets are not a part of FTX's bankruptcy proceedings.
- Customer funds will be returned in the following sequence; first opening a Liquid Japan account in mid-January, then transferring assets from FTX Japan to Liquid Japan, and finally resuming withdrawals in February.
- Customers can review their balance on Liquid Japan and remove funds accordingly.
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 Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary's Twitter account was hacked Thursday to promote a giveaway of 5,000 Bitcoin and 15,000 Ether. The fake giveaway posts were removed by Twitter a few hours after they were posted. More: - The hacker used O'Leary's Twitter account to promote and issue a statement claiming that since "Mr. Wonderful" made a lot of money, he has decided to give away Bitcoin and Ether.
- Cryptocurrency giveaway scams have been prevalent on Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Scammers have taken over accounts belonging to Apple, Google, Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Floyd Mayweather, Jeff Bezos, Joe Biden, Kanye West, Mike Bloomberg, Mr. Beast, Uber, and Warren Buffett, among others.
- For the fake O'Leary giveaway, the scammers reused the same website from an earlier fake Elon Musk giveaway, complete with the Tesla logo.
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 The Chinese government is launching the first state-backed NFT marketplace. This will mark the nation's first entry into non-fungible tokens, which will run on the "China Cultural Protection Chain" blockchain. More: - Despite the strict ban on cryptocurrency in China, the Chinese court ruled that digital assets have property rights similar to merchandise sold on e-commerce sites.
- China Technology Exchange, Art Exhibitions China, and Huban Digital, a private company, will manage the NFT platform.
- The marketplace, which translates to "China Digital Asset Trading Platform," will also be used to trade digital copyrights, property rights, and collectibles.
- The project aims to regulate the markets and avoid excessive speculation.
- The NFT launch is set for trading on Jan. 1, 2023; a celebration ceremony will occur on Sunday.
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Cryptocurrency markets were hit hard this year due to the earlier collapse of the TerraLabs ecosystem, inflation, rising interest rates, and overall market volatility. Here is a quick summary of some of the events that unfolded in the crypto space, including the departure of executives. More: - On July 21, The SEC argued that Coinbase had listed nine unregistered cryptocurrencies.
- Coinbase's stock declined 87.04% to $35.00, compared to $268.15.
- Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) seeks shareholder approval for the tender offer of 20% of the outstanding shares of GBTC.
- In July 2022, Tesla sold 75% of its BTC holdings valued at $936M; Tesla still holds $222M of Bitcoin.
- 2022 was also the year of executives leaving their roles in the crypto industry:
- In July, Algorand CEO Steven Kokinos resigned.
- In August, Sam Trabucco, co-CEO of Alameda Research, left his position.
- In August, Michael Saylor stepped down from his position as CEO of MicroStrategy to focus on Bitcoin full-time.
- On Aug. 8, U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Tornado Cash, citing that a North Korean hacker group (Lazarus Group) is using the app for money laundering.
- In September, FTX U.S. President Brett Harrison stepped down from his role to take on an advisory role.
- On Sept. 19, The SEC claimed that Ethereum falls under U.S. jurisdiction.
- On Sept. 21, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell stepped down from his role.
- In September, Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky resigned as the head of the bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network.
- In September, Celsius co-founder Daniel Leon resigned as CSO.
- In October, Gavin Wood, Ethereum co-founder and CEO of Polkadot maker Parity Technologies, resigned.
- On Nov. 11, Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO of FTX as the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- Caroline Ellison, the remaining CEO of Alameda Research, was terminated following the bankruptcy announcement of FTX and several of its subsidiaries, including Alameda.
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 |  | Gia Mattu is based in Calgary, Alberta. She is an entrepreneur with experience in climate technology, drones, AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology. When she's not working, she loves to hike the Canadian Rockies, try new cuisine, and travel. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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